Feather plucking apparatus



Feb. 26, 1952 F FlsHER 2,587,453

y FEATHER PLUCKING APPRATUS Filed OC. 6, 1949 2 SHEETS--SHEET l nnmllmlllllmnlm ATTORNEYS.

Feb. 26, 1952 F, FlsHER 2,587,453

FEATHER PLUCKING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 6, 1949 2 SHEETS--SHEET 2 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 26, 1952 UNI-TEDvr STAT-ES PATENT" OFFICE FEATHER PL'UCKING APPARATUSl FosterFisher; ProvidenceiR; I.

Applicat'onctber, 1949,'Serial No. 119,913"

6" Claims.- (Cl. 17T-111) i This vinvention relatestoV a feather; pluckingA It" is' desirable to pluck feathersi-ir1-the dry state from birds such as poultry 'which-results'in dressed '.poultryy having-aJ much better` -appear-` anceyparticularly the'color of the-skin, thanA that which is' possible oy-the usual" scalding.;` method 1 of 'plucking which is-usuallyl employed Anotherobject of' theinvention is to provide an 'apparatus' of the abovecharacterwhich will be ofa size to lbe lconveniently held in the hand to-be manually moved-'into Ythe feathers ofthe birds and which will operate in arapid manner so as-to quickly` remove all feathers yfrom the bird being plucked.vr

. Anotherobjectofthe invention is to provide anapp'aratus lof the-above-character having a constructionso that the feather gripping meinbersY will'be mounted for reciprocationv and will be freedof such feathers which may adhere 4to the said members on one stroke thereof.A

With these'and other objects in view, ther invention consists ofcertain-novel featuresof construction, as will be more fully described and particularly pointed out inthe appended claims.

Irrthe accompanying drawings ty Figure l is atop viewfof a plucgring-:apparatus` embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is a side View of the apparatusshown inFigure 1;

Figure=f3 is'av-side'viewof a v.iragnflental por# tion of the apparatus showing the feather pluck.- ing members vin a feather engaging position;

Figure 4 is 'a view'v similarto Figure Sshowing: the feather plucking members in the' open position; i

Figure 5 is a plan view of a fragmental portion of the apparatus shown inv part'secton;

Figure 6 is a sectional View of the support taken substantially along line l(--Efofl yFigure 5;

Figure 7 is a'plan view ofa modified constructi'on'offapparatus;`

Figure 8 is a similar view showinglthe-fe'ather iuckingY members in their positionatfthe end of the-plucking stroke thereof V Figureg isa' side'relevational view thereof;

Figure =l is yasectional view-v taken` substan-v tially along line lll-' i 0 of Figure 7;

Figure I11 is a-similarsection viewshowng the brushL portion ofthe device-fin the elevated positio'n' whereby the `vfeather'grippingllmember may passth'erebetween and 'i Figure f -12`-` is falso.' au similar vie'vv: showing.the open: jaws" 1 of the feather gripping."v` member. as

passing over the brush elementsv shown in Fig-- ure 11.

Referring to the-drawings for amore detailed description ofthe invention, l5 designates gen-` erallya feather plucking apparatus of a size to beconveniently heid in the hand to be moved into the feathersgof vthe vbirds to be plucked. The apparatus comprises a feather gripping member designated generally v l e having a` lower rjaw il' and anupper resilient jaw I8 which is pivotally supported relative tofthe said lower jaw by means The lower'jaw has a knife 2E' respectively. Thelower sideof Vthe bottom wall 25 isrtapered 'as at 28 towards the front edge thereof providing a substantial knife edge 2S andhas. a-recess 'therein (see Figure 6) in which themernber` IS .is guided rby Vthe walls of said-'vrecess-in the reciprocation .ofy saidk member i6. The said end wall Zlhas a central opening 3lv therein and is attached to the. side of the driving end of `a motor power sourceZ'such as by cap screws 33 (see VFigure 5).

The gripping member I6 is reciprocated. by means of a cam 34 which comprises a disc 35 having a shaft'journalled'for'rotation in the wall 24 of the `bracket 23; A pin 3l which is ec` centrically mounted on the lower side of said disc 35 projects therefrom into engagement with the walls of a cam slot 38, which slot extends into the upperwallft ofthe lower jaw I1. The wall 39 `extends-into close adjacency to the lower side of the .disc `v352 so Vas to prevent vertical movement of said member l. lThe cam 34 is rotated by means of/a train ofgears designated gene1ally-40lwhich include a bevel gear H which is xedto the shaft 35 and engages .withV a bevel gear pinion. 32"'carried by a shaft .43 journalled ina bearing'd attached to the upper Wall 24; The other end of the shaft 43 carries a gear v45 which engageswith av pinion gear. fi'secured to rotate '.With'a gear M rotated by a'pinion- 48 at-V tachedton the'idrive-shaft of the motor 32 Yand whichpinion gear 48 Aprojects through the open-v ing 13 I1 lin the bracket 23..

The.'motor.32*has the usual electrical con.- ductors .'49 providedwith av proper. ,plug vconnector (notshown) :to engage 'with a :convenient outlet of an-.fielectricalpowersource (also. not-shown):- The motorffisa also.;v provided 'fwithi aswitch-r 50 operable to close or open the motor electric circuit in a well-known manner. With the motor in motion, the cam 34 will be rotated and the feather gripping member |6 will be reciprocated in its guide by means of the crank pin 31 and cam slot 38 in an obvious manner.

It is desirable that the jaws |1 and I8 be kept in the feather gripping relation for substantially the entire pulling stroke thereof. To this end, a lever or the like is pivotally mounted on the lower jaw I1 such as by means of a pivot stud 52 extending through the lever 5| and threadedly engaging a boss 53 on the said lower jaw. A roller 54 is mounted on the periphery of the disc 35 and the lever 5| is arranged to extend into the path of movement of said roller 54 to be engaged on one side thereof to be moved in a counter-clockwise direction, as seen in Figure 2. The upper jaw I8 carries a pin 55 which projects from the side thereof into engagement with the side 55 of the lever 5| and is moved thereby to move the Said upper jaw I8 toward the closed or feather engaging position with the lower jaw I1 against the tension of the spring 22. A pull spring 51 is attached to the lever 5| as at 58 and at the other end thereof to any convenient location on the lower jaw such as at 59 so as to bias the lever into engagement with the pin 55. At the closed or feather engaging position of the upper jaw, the said pin 55 will be at the position shown in Figure 2 which will be directly in line with the center of the stud 52 and counteract the force exerted by the spring 22 tending to swing the lever 5| about its pivot 52, and the upper jaw will be locked into feather engaging position `during the pulling stroke of the member I6.

At Aor nearly at the end of the said pulling stroke the end 5|! of the lever 5| will be moved into engagement with a trip member 6| and be moved thereby to be swung about its pivotal mounting to release the pin 55 and permit the jaws I8 to be moved to the open position by means of the compression spring 22. The spacing of the roller 54 with relation to the crank pin 31 and the shaping of the cam Slot 38 issuch that a pause of ample period is provided at the end of the forward stroke of the-member l5 to permit the closing of the jaw I8 prior to the start of the rearwardly or pulling stroke of the said member IB.

Upon the opening of the jaws I1, i8 at the end of the pulling stroke, the feathers held therebetween will be released to be discharged from the apparatus; however, to assure the discharge of such feathers upon the opening of said jaws, a brush or the like member 52 (see Figure 5) is provided. The member |52 is in the present embodiment arranged to be moved between the open jaws to engage and dislodge such feathers which may adhere to the said jaws. The member 52 comprises an arm 63 hingedly secured as at 625 to a bracket 55 which is secured to the wall 26 such as by means of a cap screw 56. A torsion spring 61 is coiled about the pivot 54 and has one arm abutting against the bracket 65 and the other arm pressing against the member 52 so as to exert a force thereon tending to move the arm toward said jaws. The lower jaw I1 carries an abutment 68 (see Figure 5) which projects outwardly from the said jaw at a location to engage the arm 63. When the jaws are in the forward or feather engaging position, the said arm 63 will bel engaged by said abutment 68 on the right of said pivot 64, as viewed in Figure 5, thereby retaining said arm B3 from being moved by said Cil spring 61. At or nearly at the end of the pulling stroke of said member I6, the abutment will have been moved to the left of the pivot '54 thereby freeing the spring 51 to exert its force on the arm 63 to sweep the same between the now open jaws, as shown in dot and dash lines 69 in Figure 1.

In Figures 7-12, I have shown a modified construction in which the lower plucking jaw comprises a lever 10 having a knife edge 1| at one end portion thereof (see Figures 10-12) and bifurcated at the other end portion thereof to provide arms 12 (see Figures 7 8). The lever 10 is also provided with spaced ears 13 extending from the upper side thereof at a position thereon located intermediate the ends of the lever and is pivotally attached as at 14 to a support comprising a plate 15 having a knife edge portion 16 over which the knife edge 1| of the lower jaw moves (see Figures 10-12).

The upper feather engaging jaw is also in the form of a lever 11 having a resilient feather ,en-

gaging portion 18 (see Figures 10, l1) and a' single ear 19 extending from the lower side thereof to be positioned between the ears 13. Each of the said ears are -apertured and receives therethrough a mounting pin 8|) to pivotally secure the said upper jaw to the lower jaw. A compression spring 8| is interposed between the said jaws to bias the upper jaw to feather engaging relation with the said lower jaw. The arms 12 of the lower jaw extends into engagement with a cam which is in the form of an eccentric disc 82 mounted on a shaft 83 which is journalled at one end in the base 15 and at the other in a bracket 84 which is secured to the said plate 15 such as by means of cap screws 85. Rotation of the disc 82 will reciprocate or oscillate lever 19 about the pivot 14. The end portion 11 of lever 11 extends to be in position to be engaged by a cam 35 to swing said lever about its pivot 85 to separate the feather gripping end thereof to move the same from feather engaging position to the open position against the tension of the spring 8|. The cam S5 is also mounted upon the shaft 53 so as to rotate therewith. The shaft 33 is rotated by means of a worm wheel 81 attached thereto as by a set screw S8 and meshes with a worm 89 carried by a shaft 99 which may be rotated from any suitable power source (now shown.)

In the operation of the modified apparatus so far described, the knife edge 1| of the lower jaw is moved into the feathers of the birds to be plucked.v During the oscillation of said jaws the upper jaw 11 will close upon such feathers which may be positioned between the jaws and pull the same free of the bird. The timing of the cams 95, 82 is so arranged that the jaw will move rearwardly in the closed position to provide a feather pulling stroke and at the end of the pulling stroke the cam 86 will be at a position to engage portion 11 to separate the jaws and hold them in the separated or open position on the return stroke of the jaws.

Upon the opening of the jaws such feathers held therebetween will be free to escape; however, to assure that such feathers will be released from between the jaws, a brush and/or the like member 9| is also arranged to be relatively moved between the said jaws when in the open position during the return stroke thereof. Member 9| comprises a resilient metal strip 92 mounted on a suitable L-shaped arm 93 which is pivotally mounted on the plate 15 as at 94. The strip 92 is wedge-shaped and extends into the path of movement of the gripping surfaces of the plucking jaw and conforms substantially to the shape of the opening between said jaws when said jaws are in the open position (see Figure 9). The arm 93 carries a wedge-shaped abutment 95 having inclined sides 90 and 91 which are engaged by a spring-pressed plunger 98 carried by the lower jaw 10. The plunger 98 is generally rectangular in cross section and'has a slanted cam surface 99 on one side thereof and a rounded cam surface |00 on the opposite side (see Figure 7).

In the rearward or feather pulling stroke of the said jaws, the slanted surface 99 of the plunger 98 will engage the cam surface 9'! of the abutment 95 (see Figure 10) and swing the arm 93 about its pivot 99 to elevate the member 9| out of the path of movement of the closed jaws on the feather pulling stroke thereof, (see Figure 11). The abutment 95 will ride upon the upper surface lill of the plunger 98 (see Figure 11) and maintain the member 9| in the elevated position until the closed jaws have reached almost the end of the pulling stroke, at which time the abutment 95 will ride off the side I 0| and will be moved to the initial position by means of a torsion spring 102 coiled about the pivot 94 extending into engagement with the arm 93. Upon the return stroke of the feather pulling jaws, the upper jaw will be in the open position and passed over the upper side of the member 92 and the lower jaw will pass beneath the lower side of said member 92 whereby any feathers adhering to said jaw will be scraped and dislodged therefrom.

I claim:

1. In an apparatus for plucking feathers, a first jaw having a slot therein and mounted for reciprocal movement, cam means engaging with said slot for reciprocating said jaw, a second jaw carried by said first jaw for movement therewith and pivotally mounted thereon for movement toward and from said first jaw, a spring interposed between said jaws for biasing said second-jaw for movement from said first jaw, and cam means engaging said second jaw for moving the same toward said first jaw into feather gripping relation therewith, and a brush pivotally mounted for movement out of the path of movement of said jaws on the plucking stroke thereof and movable into the path of movement of said jaws on the return stroke thereof for engaging said jaws to remove therefrom feathers which may have adhered thereto.

2. In an apparatus for plucking feathers, a first jaw mounted for reciprocal movement, cam means for reciprocating said jaw, a second jaw pivotally mounted on said rst jaw for movement toward and from said first jaw, a spring interposed between said jaws for relative resilient movement thereof, cam means for moving said jaws toward each other into feather gripping relation, a pivotally mounted brush and means for effecting relative movement between said jaws and brush for removing such feathers which may have adhered to said jaws.

3. In an apparatus for plucking feathers, a support having a recess therein, a first jaw mounted in said recess for reciprocal movement therein, cam means engaging said jaw for reciprocating the same, a second jaw carried by said first jaw and pivotally mounted thereon for movement toward and from said first jaw, a spring interposed between said jaws for biasing said second jaw for movement from said first jaw, a pivoted lever, and means carried by said cam engaging said lever for moving the same about its pivot, a pin extending from said second jaw into the path of movement of said lever to be engaged thereby to move said second jaw toward said first jaw into feather gripping relation therewith.

4. In an apparatus for plucking feathers, a first jaw mounted for reciprocal movement, cam means for reciprocating said jaw, a second jaw pivotally mounted on said first jaw for movement toward and from said first jaw, a spring interposed between said jaws for biasing said second jaw for movement from said first jaw, cam means for moving said second jaw toward said first jaw into feather gripping relation therewith, and a brush pivotally mounted and spring urged to be moved between said jaws for removing such feathers which may have adhered to said jaws, and means carried by said jaws at a position to engage said brush to move the same from between said jaws upon the return stroke of said jaws.

5. In an apparatus for plucking feathers, a support, a i'lrst jaw movably mounted on said support, a second jaw carried by said rst jaw movable therewith and movably mounted thereon for movement to and from said firstjaw, means engaging said second jaw for moving the same into feather gripping position, cam means engaging said first jaw for moving said jaws in unison on the plucking and return stroke of said jaws, and a brush pivotally mounted on said support for movement out of the path of movement of said jaws on the plucking stroke thereof and movable in the path of movement of said jaws on the return stroke thereof for engaging said jaws to remove feathers therefrom which may have adhered thereto.

6. In an apparatus for plucking feathers, a support, a first jaw having a slot therein and mounted on said support for reciprocal movement thereon, a rotary member having a pin eccentrically mounted thereon projecting into engagement with said slot for reciprocating said jaw, a second jaw carried by said first jaw and movable therewith and pivotally mounted thereon for movement toward and from said first jaw, a spring interposed between said jaws for biasing said second jaw for movement from said first jaw, said second jaw having a pin projecting therefrom, a pivoted lock lever biased into engagement with said pin and rockable to move said second jaw into feather engaging position with said rst jaw and interlocked with said pin to hold said jaw in the said feather engaging position, a roller carried by said rotary member to engage said lever to move the same into interlocking relation with said pin and a trip finger positioned to be engaged by said lever near the end of the plucking stroke of said jaws to release the same to permit opening of said jaws.

FOSTER FISHER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 331,906 Peterhansl Dec. 8, 1885 1,939,469 Simons Dec. 12, 1933 2,113,232 Hinchliffe Apr. 5, 1938 2,268,581 Fisher Jan. 6, 1942 

